With what shall I come before(A) the Lord
    and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?(B)
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,(C)
    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?(D)
Shall I offer my firstborn(E) for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?(F)
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly(G) and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly[a](H) with your God.(I)

Israel’s Guilt and Punishment

Listen! The Lord is calling to the city—
    and to fear your name is wisdom—
    “Heed the rod(J) and the One who appointed it.[b]
10 Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house,
    and the short ephah,[c] which is accursed?(K)
11 Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales,(L)
    with a bag of false weights?(M)
12 Your rich people are violent;(N)
    your inhabitants are liars(O)
    and their tongues speak deceitfully.(P)

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 6:8 Or prudently
  2. Micah 6:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
  3. Micah 6:10 An ephah was a dry measure.

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